Main MenuBook & Article Categories
- Main Menu
Book & Article Categories
- Main Menu
Collections
Explore all collections
Theater: Expert Guides and Resources
Articles & Books From Theater
Advance your playwriting ideas from concept to production. Playwriting For Dummies brings clarity, inspiration, practical know-how, and fun to every stage of your playwriting journey. First-time playwrights and veterans alike will get an inside look at the current state of the industry, including new trends and technologies shaping the art form.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 08-11-2026
Playwriting is an exciting and accessible performing arts scriptwriting discipline. Anyone can write a play, round up some friends as actors, and gather an audience to present original theatre at its most fundamental level. But to write great plays that enthrall audiences, you may want to explore playwriting in more detail.
Discover what goes on behind the curtains of your favorite musical Do you want to know more about the fascinating history of Broadway musicals, the stars of yesterday and today, and what goes on behind the curtain of a musical production? In Musical Theatre For Dummies, Broadway insider and host of Sirus/XM Radio’s ON BROADWAY channel Seth Rudetsky takes you backstage and reveals everything you want to know (and what you didn't know you wanted to know) about life in the theatre.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-13-2023
Whether you strive to become involved with musical theatre or you’re an enthusiastic fan who can’t get enough, you’ll want to know which shows truly made a difference in musical history. Want to star in a musical? Find out how to nail the audition! Want to impress even your most-in-the-know friends? Reference off-Broadway musicals!
Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-25-2022
Breaking into acting takes more than catching a lucky break. Take steps to show up prepared for your acting audition, like keeping your clothes measurements with you. Keep accurate records of your acting expenses so you can deduct them from your taxes. Learn to deal with the frustration of acting, and keep your hopes of becoming an actor alive.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-25-2022
Ever wanted to use your voice to make a living but just didn’t know how or what to do? Voice acting is one of the greatest ways that you can use your instrument and also make money.As a voice actor, you can exercise your creativity to its fullest and get all the voices in your head a paying job! Most importantly, though, to be a voice actor is to tell a story and to tell it well.
Understand the business side of your showbiz career We all know acting can be a glittering whirl of glamour—plush red carpets, simply divine outfits, huge sums of money, and oh, the parties! But what a lot of wannabe actors forget is that it takes a lot of practical work to get to the flashbulbs of your first premiere, and that the savviest actors put as much stress on the business side of the profession as they do on the show.
Article / Updated 04-26-2016
When giving a great performance as a voice actor, you need to get a strong feel for the script writer’s intentions for writing the script. Get inside the script and read between the lines. The following tips can help you to more fully understand what the writer intended and better inform your read: Know your character.
Article / Updated 04-26-2016
As a voice actor, you need to have recorded demos that indicate your abilities and skills to prospective clients. Voice-over demos fall into four main categories, each having their own purpose, style of performance, intended audience. Commercial: These demos last 60 to 90 seconds, and they’re usually a montage of four to five snippets from radio and television ads.
Article / Updated 04-26-2016
If you feel like your efforts aren’t hitting the mark or are irregular at best, you can get proactive! You can build your roster of clients in several ways in addition to just auditioning. Although responding to casting calls is an important part of the job, so is marketing. Creating a well-defined marketing plan can help you build a client base faster than auditioning alone.
